Matt Kiatipis once believed he was destined for the NBA. His hoop dreams had taken him from his home in the Toronto suburb of Newmarket to a prep school in North Carolina to a DII scholarship. Eventually, he signed a professional contract in Costa Rica. But the rigid structure of organized basketball didn’t align with his rebellious spirit. So he found a space that did: social media.

At 21 years old, he returned to Canada certain only that he would follow his instincts. Soon, Kiatipis, known as MK on the court, was appearing in mic’ed-up 5-on-5 games with his friend, the street-baller KSHOWTIME.

“I’m gonna just go film and see what happens,” he said to himself as he stepped on the court. “If I do what I know I can do—talk shit, no refs, no professional ball— I feel like it’ll go viral.”

He says he gained 10,000 followers on IG after posting his first video in August 2021. The next clip netted him another 10,000 followers.…